2007 race reports archive (by Mike Hogg)

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April 8th, 2007

After a long, long winter (I'm sure I say that every year when I write up the first meeting) the SMRC club classes met up at Knockhill to shake off the cobwebs and get back to the serious business of racing. Old series have gone, a new one has appeared, double-headers have arrived and television coverage was in the offing. Would the racing be up to it? In a word, yes.

The Scottish Legends Championship got off to start with its biggest grid in a while, thanks to there being no clashes with National events this season and with the addition of a handful of Burnett Motorsport run National entries.

The first heat was all about Ben Mason who cleared off after hitting the front of the field, finishing five seconds down the road from Jon Jon Higgins and Carol Brown who enjoyed a race-long scrap. Making a welcome return to the series was Robin Drysdale who fought with Frank Hynds to the flag to complete the top five. Gerrard McCosh finished a couple of seconds ahead of a big fight between Steve Reynolds, David Thorburn and Stevie Coull with Ali Thom claiming the last of the top ten positions just ahead of Andrew Donald.

The second heat saw a much bigger fight for the win, Mason tracking Drysdale all the way to then just fail to win the drag-race to the flag, McCosh finishing right with them. Two seconds further back came Higgins and Reynolds to complete the top five followed by Brown, Thom and Frank Hynds. Filling out the top ten were Donald and Coull (both having possibly their best weekends so far in Legends) who crossed the line at almost the same moment.

The final saw the draw work in the favour of David Thorburn and he took off as best he could, keeping a gap to the following pack until he was caught by Drysdale in the closing stages, putting up a brave fight but losing out by a tenth of a second in the run to the flag while Drysdale took his second victory of the day. Higgins and McCosh were next up with Reynolds and Brown battling to the flag. Frank Hynds took seventh with Coull, Donald and Thom finishing the top ten.

***

It was all change in terms of drivers between the 2005/2006 seasons in the Scottish XR2 Championship, but the transition was a bit smoother for the 06/07 field with most of the protagonists returning for another bash at the title. Indeed, 2006 runner-up Andrew Winchester made a statement by taking pole for the first of two races, leading briefly until the red flag flew due to Jamie Bickett ending up on his roof after a spin into the SEAT gravel.

The restart saw Winchester once again pull away though Peter Cruickshank tagged on as best he could, pulling away from the following snarling pack made up of Derek McDougall, Willie Davidson, Ross McColm and Scott Morrison - the group fighting hard until they all got a bit close together on the run out of the hairpin. The result was a very angry McColm as he surveyed the wrecked remains of his car lying in the middle of the track. The red flag flew again and the result was declared at five laps with Winchester, Cruickshank, Davidson, McDougall and Morrison making up the top five. 2006 Champion Scott Fraser took sixth in a car he was unhappy with all weekend with Al Fraser, Graham Whitehill, Iain Fraser and Dave Colville all close behind to complete the top ten.

The second race went the distance with Cruickshank grabbing the early lead from Winchester who was suffering with a cracked exhaust manifold and it was all he could do to hold off Davidson whilst still keeping right with Cruickshank to the flag. A little bit behind came the still battling Morrison and McDougall to complete the top five quite some way ahead of a big pack battling for the remaining positions in the top ten. The three Fraser led the group home, Al, Scott and Iain closely followed by Colville and Colin MacKinnon.

***

The first Formula Ford 1600 meeting of the new era featured a twenty-three car starting grid and with the majority of the field covered by three seconds in practice, some great racing was assured, especially with names like Taylor, Kirkaldy, Di Resta, Kerr, Hourie, Geddes, Mason, Brunton, Thorburn and a host of other well known Scottish runners taking to the track.

The first race started with Geordie Taylor pulling out a small lead over Louis Di Resta which he would hold to the chequered flag, though Alan Kirkaldy did not see half distance, being forced to slow and retire into the pitlane. Robert Thomson took up what would become a lonely third place a couple of seconds ahead of Stuart Thorburn and Willie Hourie who suffered a coming together with David Kerr which ended Kerr's day, though Hourie was able to make it to the flag. Behind the top five the rest of the field had a mammoth battle throughout the race, with more overtaking than had been seen in a single-seater class at Knockhill for many years. Richard Brand and Elliot Mason took sixth and seventh seperated by a whisker at the end with Angus Geddes, Graham Legget and Craig Brunton completing the top ten, Brunton just holding off David Thorburn.

The second race saw Taylor starting from the pitlane, allowing Di Resta to take the lead in his IF run Van Diemen early on. After three laps, however, Stuart Thorburn surged by to take a lead he would hold onto until the end with Di Resta shadowing his every move. Eight seconds back Elliot Mason capped a brilliant single-seater debut with third place a long way ahead of the battle between Graham Carroll, Kirkaldy and Richard Brand who all crossed the line covered by a couple of tenths. A similarly close battle five seconds behind rounded out the top nine with Robert Thomson leading home Leggett and Brunton, Geordie Taylor taking tenth place after a blazing fight through the field from last. As in the first race, there was a bewildering amount of passing and close battles to watch all through the field, the big grid really making the races hugely entertaining.

***

The Smartycars.com Mini Cooper Cup saw Mark Dryden take his first ever pole position but his jubilation was short lived with a spin into the gravel at the bottom of SEAT Curves ending his race very early. Paul Wilson took over the lead but series veteran Vic Covey was soon on his tail, grabbing the lead with Ian Milton taking second a couple of laps later. Jillian Shedden took forth on her debut, holding on to the position just ahead of Kenneth Thirwall with IF Motorsport Scholarship winner Jordan Gronkowski in sixth a few seconds ahead of a big fight between Michael Rowan, Glynn Geddie and Gilbert Grossett, all three cars crossing the line together. Scott Caldow was the tenth and final finisher.

The second race saw a random draw flip the top seven finishers from the first race around and Rowan led the field away, While the field sorted itself out Shedden and then Wilson took a shot at the front, Wilson taking advantage of an absolutely massive battle over second erupting behind him to pull out a four second lead to take the win. Covey managed to pull away from the group behind to take second while Shedden managed a last gasp pass on Thirwall to take the final podium place. Also in the group at the end were Gronkowski, Milton and Dryden with Barrie, Rowan and Grossan fighting over the top ten finishing spots about six seconds further back.

***

In the Classic Sports and Saloons it was a familiar sight to behold in the first race with Stan Bernard initially leading in his Porsche 911 followed by Al Fleming's Lotus Elan. With the lead battle hotting up, contact at Scotsman saw Bernard turned sideways with Fleming sufficiently slowed that Olly Ross managed to dive past both of them to grab a sizeable lead in his popular Lotus Europa. Fleming did indeed get into second and was challenging the black Lotus when the chequered flag flew and he was forced to settle for second, Bernard in third with Matthew Gordon and Jim Grant completing the top five.

The second race was looking like a fairly easy win for Fleming when his car ground to a stop on the last lap, gifting the win to Bernard to make up for his loss of a possible win in the first race ahead of Ross, Grant in another Elan, Tommy Gilmartin's beautifully turned out BMW 2002 and Gordon's Porsche.

***

The Scottish Saloons and Sportscars had a lower grid than usual but you didn't have to look far to find the likely winners with Robert Pritchard and George Brewster pretty much taking up where they had left off in 2006 at the front of the field in their heavily modified Caterhams. In the first race Brewster initially managed to grab the lead but Pritchard quickly grabbed it and despite being pushed to the end he managed to record yet another win for his Caterham Vauxhall. Half a minute behind them came the fighting Caterhams of Iain Cowie and David Headen, the top five (indeed, the lead lap cars) being completed by Charlie Shaw's purple Focus.

The second race was more of the same, Pritchard leading all ten laps but never being given a moment's rest by Brewster. Headen and Cowie were this time able to fight with Shaw's Focus, Headen taking the final podium position ahead of the Ford and Cowie in fifth. As in the first race Andrew Morrison's MG-ZR was sixth, first of the lapped cars.

Full results: www.smart-timing.co.uk/Results%202007_files/Knockhill/8th%20April.pdf

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May 27th, 2007

With a seven week gap between the first and second rounds of SMRC action, bumper grids were assured for the May meeting of the SMRC classes. Add the visiting MSA British Superkart Championship and you had a full paddock and a full day's racing to look forward to.

In the Saloon and Sportscar races Andrew Gallacher made up for a very disappointing first meeting in April for his team by taking two victories in his massively quick Ford Focus. He was made to work hard for it by Robert Pritchard in the first race but just held him off, while Charlie Shaw had to overcome the Caterhams of Peter Frith and David Headen for the final podium spot, all three cars covered by half a second. Ian Hepburn took sixth as the only other car on the lead lap.

The second race took place on a wet track and once again saw a Gallacher victory, this time initially followed away from the grid by the similar but different Ford Focus of Shaw. An off on the first lap dropped Pritchard to fourth meaning he had to fight back past Headen and Shaw but by then Gallacher was untouchable. Shaw suffered a huge spin into a gravelly retirement handing Headen the final podium position though the Caterham had to fight hard for it given the close attention of Derek Hastings in his nicely turned out Escort Cosworth. Frith completed the top five and lead lap finishers.

***

The Scottish Legends Championship once again saw a field of twenty cars (missing April race winner Robin Drysdale who was at Monaco to watch the Grand Prix), with Ben Mason dominating the first heat by sprinting into an early lead which he would easily hold on to. Poleman Steve Reynolds took up the chase while Jon Jon Higgins, Gerard McCosh and Frank Hynds battled to the front of the pack. With Reynolds and Higgins pulling away from their pursuers, McCosh fought past Hynds but it was too late to make any impression on the lead cars. A huge battle in the midfield eight seconds behind Hynds saw the returning Alex Knight take sixth place just ahead of Carol Brown, David Thorburn, Colin Atkinson, Steve Coull and Mark Spiers.

The second heat saw Jon Jon Higgins starting at the front and he very easily stamped his authority on the field on the damp track, taking off into the distance almost immediately to win by over twelve seconds. The field took a while to sort itself out in the greasy conditions, McCosh making the most of it to work his way up to second when Frank Hynds suffered a spin. Mason made a comeback from the rear of the field to take second while Reynolds, Spiers, Brown and Knight were next up at the flag. Rory Bryant put on a great show to take eighth place in only his fifth Legends race ahead of Pat Hynds and Atkinson.

The final promised a lot of action with all the quick guys starting towards the back and in the early laps a lot of battling ensued while they forced their way forward. Frank Hynds, David Thorburn and Ali Thom made the early running before Higgins and Mason worked their way to the point. After getting by Hynds, Higgins and Mason fought hard all the way to the flag, Higgins winning by .161 of a second after Mason had briefly grabbed the lead on the last lap. Hynds held on to a lonely third with Thorburn an equally solitary fourth. McCosh took fifth with Carol Brown taking sixth just ahead of Steve Coull and Thom. Up to the flag the remaining top ten positions were battled over by Atkinson, James Willis, Alistair Gauld, and Mark Speirs. The final result saw an overall victory for Higgins from Mason and McCosh.

***

With Scott Fraser having won both of the away rounds of the Scottish XR2 Championship at Cadwell Park a few weeks previously, Andrew Winchester's goal was to get back on the top step of the podium at Knockhill and he duly obliged, taking two wins with Fraser shadowing him home in both races. In the first race Fraser led away while Willie Davidson was forced to head to the pits early. With Peter Cruickshank, Ross McColm and Scott Morrison following closely, Winchester took the lead on the third lap just for Fraser to take the spot back soon afterward. The close battle continued for a number of laps until the second last lap when Winchester managed to nip though on the inside leaving the hairpin, holding the lead to win with Cruickshank shadowing the leaders. Morrison took fourth with a big battle for fifth going the way of Derek McDougall ahead of Colin MacKinnon, McColm and Stewart Scott. Dave Colville and Al Fraser fought to the line to complete the top ten.

The second race was once again led away by Scott Fraser but Winchester once again followed him, having to initially fight off the attentions of Morrison who then dropped behind Cruickshank. At around half distance Winchester repeated his passing move from the first race by passing Fraser on the run up to Seat Curves with the battle for third raging behind them, Cruickshank and Morrison swapping positions a few times up to the flag. In a fraught final lap of cut and thrust, Fraser dived round the outside of the hairpin to create a drag race to the chequered flag which Winchester won by 0.57 of a second. Third to ninth was covered by a matter of two seconds, Cruickshank taking third ahead of Morrison, Dave Colville, MacKinnon, McColm, Scott and Davidson.

***

The first of two SMRC Formula Ford 1600 Championship races saw a win by Louis Di Resta who moved into second place on the first lap, pouncing on pole position man Stuart Thorburn next time around. Graham Carroll then worked his way into second place but could do nothing about Di Resta who pulled out a four second lead over the remainder of the race. Thorburn finished a lonely third with fourth place going to Robert Thomson ahead of the battling David Thorburn and Elliot Mason. The top ten was completed by David Kerr, Craig Brunton, Alan Kirkaldy and Willie Hourie with Geordie Taylor crashing on the last lap and ending his day with rear-end damage.

The second race saw Di Resta lead away with Thorburn passing Carroll for second. With Di Resta pulling away from the field, the battle for fourth made up the majority of the interest until the fifth lap when contact at Butchers saw David Thorburn and Elliot Mason out of the race. This allowed Robert Thomson into fourth where he would stay around five seconds behind the battle for second between Stuart Thorburn and Carroll, Thorburn holding on to the end, again finishing around four seconds behind Di Resta. Rory Butcher took fifth, holding off Craig Brunton with David Kerr, Angus Geddes, Kirkaldy and Graham Legget completing the top ten.

***

The Scottish Minis welcomed ex-BTCC star David Leslie into the celebrity car for its pair of races, Mark Dryden looking like the man to beat in qualifying. He led away in the first race, closely followed all the way by Ian Milton who stuck with him all the way, in turn closely followed by Paul Wilson. The close status quo was maintained all the way to the last corner of the last lap when a missed gear by Dryden allowed Milton to get alongside on the way to the line, Dryden just hanging on to the win by 0.001 of a second! Wilson finished right with them with Ken Thirlwall in a lonely fourth place. Gilbert Grossett completed the top five.

The second race saw Paul Wilson take the lead and he extended it steadily as the ten laps unravelled to win by five seconds. The action was all behind him though, Grossett initially in second but the quicker guys soon worked their way forward, Ian Milton taking up second place. As the battle raged right behind him, Milton held on to second while Thirlwall managed to take the final spot on the podium. Dryden initially ran ahead of Vic Covey and David Leslie, but Leslie pulled off some of his old magic to work his way by both of them to finish fourth, all three covered by half a second at the end.

***

The first of the Historic Sports and Saloon races started with Mike Nisbet and Olly Ross spinning to the rear of the field, Ross retiring on the next lap with Nisbet proceeding to scythe through the field. Matthew Gordon and Adam Bernard's Porsches battled over the lead for most of the remainder of the race but the real story was Nisbett making up twelve seconds in nine laps to first catch them both and get past to take an amazing victory in his own Porsche 911. Willy Toye's Triumph TR8 was the only car near the speed of the Porsches and he took fourth ten seconds behind the trio, Tommy Gilmartin's BMW the only other car on the lead lap in fifth.

The second race saw the field reversed and after a fraught first lap Toye emerged in the lead in his TR8 followed by the three Porsches and Gimartin. The sheer grunt of the TR8 kept Toye ahead for a couple of laps but Adam Bernard had a couple of attempts, eventually getting by on the fourth lap. Toye tried too hard to get by towards the end of the lap, going off track at the hairpin into the tyre wall. The moment caused Bernard to wiggle the rear of his car and although both of the other Porsches got alongside he briefly retained the lead, eventually losing it to Nisbet. Olly Ross had caught them by this time in his Lotus Europa and proceeded to monster Gordon's 911, chasing him all the way to the flag. Having taken the lead Nisbet proceeded to pull out a three second lead on Bernard, Gordon and Ross with Tommy Gilmartin once again completing the top five.

Full results: www.smart-timing.co.uk/Results%202007_files/Knockhill/27th%20May.pdf

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June 24th, 2007

Knockhill seems to be stuck in something of a timewarp this season with the same old dodgy weather re-appearing each time the SMRC classes run there. The big addition this time though was some torrential rain into the morning of raceday.

The Historic Saloon and Sportscar Series is producing some incredible racing in 2007 and was no different this time out. Olly Ross found his Lotus Europa to be well suited to the conditions and he more or less ran away with the first race, finishing twenty seconds ahead of a huge struggle between Stan Bernard, Matthew Gordon and Al Fleming in his Lotus Elan. Jim Grant's similar Elan completed the top five.

In the second race with the finishing positions from the first reversed, Ross blasted through the field up to second on the first lap, hitting the front and vanishing again to win by over thirteen seconds. Matthew Gordon worked his way forward to grab second but Stan Bernard found the going tougher and could only manage sixth place. The top five was made up by Al Fleming, Tommy Gilmartin's BMW and Jim Grant after Mike Connon suffered a late breakdown in his Sunbeam.

***

With the Northern Saloon and Sportscar Championship visiting Knockhill at this event, there was no shortage of extra entries in the Scottish Saloon and Sportscars. Indeed, twenty-four cars took the start in the first race, but one car initially looked head and shoulders above the rest with Andrew Gallacher blasting away in his awesome Ford Focus. Behind him Colin Simpson's Marcos and the similarly impressive Focus of Charlie Shaw battled hard over the remaining positions all race, catching Gallacher to withing a second or so at the end. Robert Pritchard and Harry Simpson were next up in Caterhams with Tommy Dreelan's superb new Porsche 997 in sixth. The top ten was completed by the Caterhams of Bob Lyons and David Headen, Ian Hepburn's Westfield and Peter Frith's Caterham.

The second race was more of the same for Gallacher, taking a lead he wouldn't lose. He was hard pushed by Simpson however, who after a coming together with Pritchard had to fight his way back to the lead battle, having to settle for finishing right with the Focus. Dreelan took the final podium position with Lyons and Pritchard battling to the line for fourth and fifth. The top ten was completed by Headen, Hepburn, Tim Evans in a Sylva Phoenix, Frith and Peter Taddei.

The first heat of the Scottish Legends was held in very wet conditions, with Alex Knight and Carol Brown taking to the front early on. They were soon joined by Ben Mason and Robin Drysdale. With Frank Hynds getting involved and Brown suffering an off, Drysdale pulled out a small lead to win by a second from Hynds, Mason, Knight and impressive rookie Rory Bryant who completed the top five, taking the fastest lap en route.

The second heat saw Mason vanish into the lead but the organisers felt he had jumped the start, issuing him with a ten second penalty, elevating Frank Hynds into the winning position. Drysdale and Gerrard McCosh crossed the line together to complete the podium ahead of David Thorburn, Mason being classified fifth. Brown and Bryant's battle for sixth ended with Bryant head first into the hairpin tyrewall on the last lap.

The final started with a pile-up at the bottom of Seat Curves seeing several cars off the road. This allowed Frank Hynds into the early lead with Mason working his way up to second. Drysdale completed the podium while Knight, Bryant, Brown and Thorburn all finished within a second or so of each other.

***

The Scottish XR2s were, as usual, all about Scott Fraser and Andrew Winchester. The first race started with carnage, a spin by Willie Davidson taking out a large number of the field and causing a red flag. The second start was almost as messy but carried on, with Fraser taking the win around three seconds ahead of Winchester. Dave Colville marked a welcome return to the podium with third ahead of Davidson and Colin MacKinnon.

The second race saw a reversal of fortunes with Winchester initially leading, losing the point to Fraser and then regaining it to take the win by a couple of seconds with Fraser having to fend off the hard charging Colville. Colin MacKinnon took fourth with Davidson grabbing the last of the top five positions just ahead of Stewart Scott. Graham Whitehill lost a top five finish when his engine let go at the hairpin.

***

In the SMRC Formula Ford 1600s, Mike Gardiner took a dominant victory in the first race, leading home Louis Di Resta by over eight seconds. Di Resta held a similar gap back to Stuart Thorburn while Rory Butcher and Elliot Mason enjoyed a close battle to the end to complete the top five.

The second race saw another dominant victory for Gardiner in the tricky conditions, this time he was joined on the podium by Butcher and Mason who once again were all over each other. Thorburn took fourth ahead of Graham Carroll while Di Resta struggled to an eighth place finish after a number of offs.

The Smartycars Scottish Mini races also saw the worst of the weather, with Rory Butcher eventually winning the first race by three and a half seconds from Oliver Mortimer in the celebrity car. Steve Mitchell completed the podium but had to fight hard for it, keeping Vic Covey Jnr behind him to the flag. Mark Dryden completed the top five with the race being halted early to retrieve a bale of tyres which had been knocked onto the racing line.

The second race saw a victory for Mortimer with a big battle for second place going the way of Paul Wilson, just ahead of Mitchell and Butcher. Kenneth Thirlwall rounded off what had been an impressive weekend with a top five finish.

Full results: www.smart-timing.co.uk/Results%202007_files/Knockhill/24th%20June.pdf

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August 12th, 2007

The festivities at Knockhill for the August SMRC meeting got under way with the Smartycar.com Mini Coopers. The first race saw the lead battle come down to four cars, Ken Thirlwall pulling away a little from the battling Ian Milton, Glynn Geddie and Vic Covey Jnr behind him. Mark Dryden fought his way past John Barrie to complete the top five.

The second race saw the top six reversed so Barrie initially led away, Covey not lasting too long before a spectacular looking collision with the tyrewall. Geddie grabbed the lead in a frenetic struggle and managed to pull out a slight gap while Gilbert Grossett, Mark Dryden and Thirlwall engaged in a fantastic battle for second place, taking it turns to hold the position. Dryden eventually grabbed it, following Geddie home a second behind, Grossett and Thirlwall in very close attendence. Barrie completed the top five after a similarly close fight with Jordan Gronkowski.

***

Having enjoyed his trip to Knockhill in his fabulous Triumph TR4 for the Classic Speedfair, Cleveland's Mark Campbell was a welcome returnee to the track to take part in the Classic Sports and Saloons races. He stamped his authority all over the first race, taking a dominant win by over eleven seconds from Stan Bernard's Porsche, Matthew Gordon not far behind in his own 911, the two having swapped positions late on. A long way back and completing the top five were Tommy Gilmartin's BMW and the Lotus Europa of Olly Ross which enjoyed a long battle with Ian Longford's Escort.

The second race was again a fairly straight-forward affair for the Campbell TR4, recovering from a poor start he went on to win by a generous margin from the battling Ross and Bernard who crossed the line together. Gordon and Gilmartin completed the top five.

***

The Scottish Sports and Saloon Championship saw an epic day of battling between the ever dominant Ford Focus of Andrew Gallacher and the Caterham Vauxhall of Robert Pritchard which was visiting along with the constantly entertaining Northern Sports and Saloons. Having initially pulled out a slight lead, Gallacher found himself having to defend from the red Caterham later in the race, taking the win by the smallest of margins. David Headen took third position after an equally good battle with Bob Lyons, Tommy Dreelan's Porsche GT3 in fifth.

Race two was more of the same, a fabulous race long battle between Gallacher and Pritchard going the Caterham's way after a breakdown on the second to last lap for the Focus dropped it eight seconds behind at the end. Headen and Lyons once again battled over third with Warren Dunbar coming home fifth in his Caterham.

***

The SMRC Formula Ford 1600 Championship saw a huge grid on hand, but no-one could match Mike Gardiner on the day. In the first race he led from lights to flag, Rory Butcher initially holding second place all race before being disqualified. This gave second to Graham Carroll with Stuart Thorburn and Robert Thomson completing a spread-out top five.

The second race was a Gardiner dominiated affair once again, though a huge battle for second eventually went to Carroll ahead of Thorburn. Alan Kirkaldy circulated with them at the end with Craig Brunton just holding off Elliot Mason to complete the top five.

***

The Scottish XR2 Championship was the hotbed of controversy for the day when in the first race Graham Whitehill and Andrew Winchester led the field away but were adjudged to have jumped the start, ten seconds to be added to their race times. Peter Cruickshank attempted a move on Winchester into the chicane on the third lap but contact between the two saw Cruickshank off the track and into retirement. The officials initially excluded Winchester from the results with regard to this incident but on appeal he was re-instated, being classified seventh. Whitehill pulled out a large lead but in the end it would only be enough for fourth when the penalty was added, Scott Fraser taking the win with Willie Davidson and Charlie Cope right behind him. A wide moment at the hairpin dropped Dave Colville from a possible win to fifth place at the end.

The second race was a lights to flag victory for Whitehill, his run to the flag being aided by the three car battle behind him as well as the very early breakdown of Scott Fraser. Davidson initially held the place and held off pressure from Cope and Winchester for the majority of the race before falling behind them both on the penultimate lap. Five seconds further back, Dave Colville led home a large pack of battling cars to complete the top five.

***

The first heat of the day for the Scottish Legends Championship started with Gerrard McCosh and Ben Mason breaking away from the pack, McCosh initially building up a lead which Mason ate into after working his way through the field, taking the lead on lap five and holding McCosh off to the flag. Dave Newsham also had to work his way through the field but did so in fine style, coming home in a lonely third place ahead of the equally singular Dave Thorburn and Carol Brown. Incident of the race was between Steve Reynolds and Andrew Donald when a mechanical problem robbed Reynolds of engine braking and he slammed into Donald's car at the hairpin, losing the front-right wheel.

The second heat was a walkover for Newsham, leading the entire race from pole. Mason once again worked his way through the field but still had three seconds to make up on Newsham at the end. Scholarship driver Rory Bryant put in the drive of the day to grab his first podium, helped by a tangle behind him between McCosh and Thorburn which saw Carol Brown up to fifth.

The final was once again between Newsham and Mason when it came down to it, Newsham made a slightly better job of it and managed to pull a small gap which Mason could not pull back. Having started on the front row after a bad day, Frank Hynds made the most of it to come home in a lonely third place, a long way ahead of a huge battle between McCosh and Brown, which would go McCosh's way after a last gasp move at the hairpin.

Full results: www.smart-timing.co.uk/Results%202007_files/Knockhill/12th%20August.pdf

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September 16th, 2007

In the worst possible of rainy conditions, the September SMRC meeting at Knockhill got underway with the Scottish Formula Ford 1600 Championship. Graham Carroll, Alan Kirkaldy, Stuart Thorburn and Louis Di Resta pulled away from the field initially before Thorburn was forced to retire and Di Resta fell back, leaving Carroll and Kirkaldy to have a great battle to the flag.

The second race saw Kirkaldy take the lead from Carroll with Di Resta and Robert Thomson fighting it out behind them, though a spin at the hairpin would drop Di Resta to the back of the field. Carroll grabbed the win on the last lap after after some wheelbanging with Kirkaldy at the hairpin and Thomson came home a lonely third with Elliot Mason and Louis Di Resta enjoying good comeback drives through the field to sixth and seventh.

***

The Scottish Legends Championship was due its first of two double header meetings at this event and the first heat started in atrocious weather, the red flag flying on the third lap after a three car incident left Michael Hogg and Murray Ford's cars damaged on the track after Clark/Carlube corner. At the restart Ben Mason emerged in the lead and held it to the end, finishing a decent distance ahead of Frank Hynds and a hard charging Carol Brown. Jason Ogg took his best ever finish with fourth ahead of Colin Atkinson.

The second heat saw Rory Bryant lead away with Ben Mason fighting his way steadily through the field from towards the back, taking second fairly quickly with Andrew Donald holding onto a great third place ahead of Brown and Gerard McCosh. Mason grabbed the lead from Bryant late on but only won by a second with McCosh and Brown fighting past Donald.

The final was held in the worst weather of the day with the pole-sitting car of Alistair Dow spinning on the pace lap and delaying the start by a lap. When the race got underway Mark Lees grabbed the lead at the hairpin with Mason flying through the field from the back, taking a couple of laps to get by Donald then fighting by Ogg, Pat Hynds and Dow in the worsening conditions to finish two seconds behind Lees who had just completed his best ever race.

The first heat of the second round started with David Thorburn in the lead, Mason very quickly working his way up to third followed by Bryant as they closed in on the leading pair of Thorburn and McCosh. After a brief struggle Mason moved up to second but could not catch Thorburn who took the victory while Tony Caig had a very impressive race, passing Bryant and McCosh for third.

The second heat began with Mason grabbing the lead and quickly extending it followed by Bryant and Lees, the leaders spreading out while a big battle got underway in the midfield. Mason tool a straightforward victory ahead of Bryant with Frank Hynds and Thorburn passing Lees late on.

The final started chaotically with Hogg leading into Seat but flying off the road at the top of the hill followed by Atkinson with Lees spinning into the gravel. Jason Ogg and Frank Hynds also sampled the agricultural route and with Lees beached the red flag flew. The restart once again saw Hogg off the road at Seat but the rest of the field made it through, Carol Brown taking the lead ahead of Mason who had stormed through from the back closely followed by Thorburn and Caig. An off at Seat saw Thorburn drop back while McCosh did the same and got stuck while Mason grabbed the lead at the hairpin, holding off a very determined assault from Brown to the end with Caig right behind. Alisdair Gauld and Jason Ogg completed the top five with Bryant, Aly Hunter (having a go in Donald's car) and Frank Hynds battled hard across the line.

***

The Smartycar.com Scottish Minis saw two good races, Paul Wilson taking the lead from Ken Thirlwall at the start of the first race, Ian Milton and Jordan Gronkowski swapping positions in the battle for third, closely followed by Vic Covey. With Thirlwall retaking the lead, Milton caught Wilson and went off at Clark/Carlube, dropping to fourth behind a very big battle between Wilson and Covey, Wilson holding on to second while Milton once again had to fend off Gronkowski to keep fourth.

The second race was red-flagged after a three car incident between Mark Dryden, Michael Rowan and Steve Mitchell and at the restart Milton took the lead, a huge five car battle for the top spot getting underway. A wide moment at the hairpin dropped Wilson and Thirlwall out of contention and they would remain fourth and fifth to the end while Milton, Covey and Gronkowski battled hard all the way, Covey just snatching the win by outdragging Milton from the hairpin to the finishline.

***

Somewhat ironically the Scottish Classic Sports and Saloons suffered its smallest grid of the year having just been awarded Championship status by the MSA for 2008, only seven cars turning out. The first race saw Stan Bernard grab the lead from Olly Ross at the start in his Porsche, Ross retaking the point on lap four and pulling out a couple of seconds on the battling Porsches of Bernard and Matthew Gordon, who managed to pass after a couple of attempts towards the end to finish second.

The second race saw Gordon make the best of the reversed grid as he leapt to front, Ross getting into the midfield and Bernard struggling to get through. With Ross up to second, Bernard seemed to struggle for pace, settling into fifth while Gordon took a straightforward victory ahead of Ross's Lotus. Ian Longford took the final podium spot ahead of Bernard who gained fourth after a spin from Steven Swan's Renault Gordini.

***

The Scottish Saloon and Sportscar races saw more dominance from the awesome Ford Focus of Andrew Gallacher, who in the first race cleared off into the distance very quickly to win by ten seconds from Charlie Shaw's Focus and Robert Pritchard's Caterham which was a further five seconds down. An early spin by Colin Simpson in his Marcos Mantis dropped him down the order but he soon fought his way back up to fourth though a late pitstop dropped him back to fifth behind Alistair McCaig who was making a Knockhill comeback in a Caterham.

The second race once again saw victory for Gallacher, though Pritchard managed to stay reasonably in touch due to the drier conditions. McCaig took third with Shaw an early retirement after an off at Clark/Carlube.

***

The two races of the Scottish XR2 Championship saw several offs and controversial incidents, the first race seeing Andrew Winchester take the lead from poleman Scott Fraser while Willie Davidson suffered a spin at Seat. A big accident for Dave Colville at Seat saw him out of the race the next time round while Fraser retook the point with a big battle between Stewart Scott and Scott Morrison raging for third. The battle for fifth between Charlie Cope and Colin MacKinnon saw Cope off at Scotsman while a similar mistake from Winchester saw him drop into the clutches of Morrison who grabbed second at the hairpin which he held to the end with MacKinnon and Ian Munro completing the top five.

The second race was red flagged with Munro and Russell Morgan stuck at Seat and at the restart Winchester jumped up to second behind Fraser, only to drop back behind Morrison after a moment at Scotsman. A close battle followed in which Winchester retook the position at the hairpin but it was too late to do anything about Fraser who led the two of them home with MacKinnon and Cope fighting over fourth again.

Full results: www.smart-timing.co.uk/Results%202007_files/Knockhill/16th%20September.pdf

[Catriona]

October 21st, 2007

A top quality year of SMRC racing came to a close on October the 21st with the first season of the "Race Plus" format of double headers at each event (three races as usual for Legends) proving to be a success. All the series fielded large grids in the rapidly cooling Autumn temperatures.

The first Classic Saloon and Sportscar race was all about Stan Bernard who would win by seven seconds from Al Fleming's Lotus Elan. Matthew Gordon completed the podium some way back, Willy Toye having initially run with the top four before a breakage on his car.

The second race saw Bernard work his way through the reversed grid and pull well away, Fleming taking longer and having to think about Gordon's Porsche not far behind him. Olly Ross came home only a couple of seconds behind the dueling pair.

***

The first of two Legends rounds saw the first heat dominated by Ben Mason who established an early lead which Dave Newsham ate into but could not close. Carol Brown held off pressure from Andrew Donald and Jason Ogg in the damp conditions to take the final step of the podium. The second heat saw early leader Newsham pull off with mechanical maladies then Tony Caig and Brown went off track to allow Alisdair Gauld into the lead for a while, until Mason once again took the point. Gauld took a hugely impressive second with Gerard McCosh right with him, Rory Bryant and Mark Lees completing the top five. The final saw an easy win for Newsham who vanished into the distance from the front of the field, followed by Alistair Dow who managed to hold off Mason. Bryant finished a lonely fourth ahead of large numbers of fighting pairs.

The second round got off to a familiar start when compared to the final of the morning races, Newsham once again starting from the front and romping to victory ahead of Mason who had to fight through a lot of traffic. McCosh held off Brown to take the podium finish with Thorburn completing the top five. The second heat saw another win by Newsham but he needed to work for it, Mason having started at the front and Newsham in the midfield. After a battle he got by and held the lead to the flag with McCosh in third. A late move by Thorburn got him by Bryant for fourth. The final was by all accounts a classic affair with battles all the way from the front of the field to the back. By lap four Mason was leading with Newsham attached to his bumper and for six laps they didn't hold back, passing and re-passing all the way to the flag, Newsham just hanging on when it mattered to take a hat-trick of wins, though Mason would be crowned Champion. Brown, Thorburn, Ogg and McCosh were next up with Rory Bryant in seventh being crowned the Rookie Class Champion.

***

The two Scottish Saloon and Sportscar races once again went the way of Andrew Gallacher's all-powerful Ford Focus while he wrapped up the title, the first race being a benefit in which he finished six seconds ahead of Robert Pritchard's Caterham. Stuart Whyte made an appearance in his Seat Cupra Cup car to take third with David Headen fourth and Charlie Shaw surviving a close call with Colin Simpson's spinning Marcos to take the fifth place finish.

The second race had seen Gallacher with a commanding lead but following a slow-down to ensure his championship or a charge by Pritchard, the gap at the end was next to nothing. Headen's Caterham was next up followed by Shaw and Whyte.

***

The Scottish XR2s saw a lap chopped off the first of their two races, Iain Fraser's damaged car needing to be retreived from the middle of the road and the red flag flying. Up to that point it had been a well-behaved race, Charlie Cope taking an impressive victory three seconds ahead of the battling Graham Whitehill and Andrew Winchester. Fourth went to Scott Morrison with Gary Meikle re-appearing on the SMRC scene to beat Scott Fraser to fifth. The top ten was completed by two fighting pairs in Peter Cruickshank, Geraint Jones, Willie Davidson and Charlie Thornton.

The second race was again a well-behaved affair, all starters making it to the chequered flag. A good start by Whitehill saw him grab a lead he wasn't going to lose, though Cope and Winchester were right with him all the way - the trio covered by just over half a second at the end. Scott Fraser finished ten seconds further back, once again being crowned XR2 Champion while Cruickshank beat Morrison to fifth place.

***

The Smartycars.com Mini Cooper Cup started with a hard fought win for Ken Thirlwall who fought off soon-to-be Champion Paul Wilson for the victory. A long way back came a snarling pack of seven cars, Mark Dryden pulling out a little breathing space at the end with Vic Covey, Jordan Gronkowski and Ian Milton all glued together. The second race ended the season with controversy when a fantastic group battle was ended by John Barrie being turned around in front of the field, Thirlwall and Michael Rowan suffering massive impacts into the tyre wall in avoidance. With all drivers okay and the tyre barriers eventually fixed, the race restarted with Paul Wilson leading Mark Dryden. More controversy would follow as a little behind them a collison between Ian Milton and Finlay Crocker saw Milton head-first into the tyres and Crocker into the pits to retire. The unfortunate Glynn Geddie got swept up in the incident and was also eliminated. A techinical infringement would see Paul Wilson (already the Champion in any case) disqualified while the win went to Dryden. Covey took second with Alasdair McGowan in third. The only other classified finishers were Barrie and Milton who had taken the Newcomer's Cup.

***

The SMRC Formula Ford 1600 races were reasonably easy victories for Rory Butcher though in the first he was kept honest by Stuart Thorburn who caught him up after managing to escape the battle being raged between himself, Alan Kirkaldy and Graham Carroll over second. The final race of the season for the series was another win for Butcher, this time by a comfortable margin over the Class A Champion Carroll. Thorburn and Kirkaldy once again had a big battle while Alan Brunton won a big four car battle for fifth place. Angus Geddes finished twelfth to take the Class B Championship.

Full results: www.smart-timing.co.uk/Results%202007_files/Knockhill/21st%20October.pdf